Avoiding the Thorns
by echo.waie
Summary: Harry is killed by Voldemort in the Graveyard during the Triwizard Tournament. Two years later, Draco is assigned a job as a death eater, but wants nothing to do with them. Hermione catches him, and they decide their own path. Dramione.
1. Chapter 1: The Triwizard Tournament Ends

The air was tense. The crowd had seen something unexplainable. Even Dumbledore didn't know what was going on. Harry and Cedric had just reached the Triwizard cup together, and, all of the sudden, they vanished.

There was only five minutes of nervous talk before the lost champions returned. But something was wrong. Harry wasn't there.

"Where is Harry, Cedric? Where is he?" Dumbledore asked the boy. He mumbled something. Immediately he beckoned Moody over to him to discuss what Diggory had said. The crowd was dead silent. Together, he and Dumbledore ran off into the night and the Minister of Magic took over ruling of the tournament.

"We will announce the winner tomorrow at the feast. Please, everyone return to your dormitories and remain there," Fudge ordered, unsure of what was going on. The students and visitors did as they were told, and filed out of the stands. Hermione and Ron walked together, scared for Harry's life, hoping, just hoping that Dumbledore could bring him back.

Instead of trying to sleep, they sat in the common room with Fred and George around the fire. The pain of not knowing what happened to harry ate away at them. Even the twins couldn't make light of tonight's events. By morning, staring into each other's blank, tired eyes, they concluded he was dead. None of Harry's Gryffindor friends could eat at the feast, and Cedric had been bed-ridden from shock.

When Madame Pompfrey and Amos Diggory led his son into the Great Hall, and sat beside him at the Hufflepuff Table, Dumbledore called everyone's attention. Cornelius Fudge proceeded to the pulpit, where he began the customary speech about Cedric and how brave he was for the Triwizard Tournament. Amos helped his son to the front of the hall to receive his prize.

"I give you eternal glory." As Fudge said this, Cedric sank to the ground, shaken by tears. "What is it, boy? You won!"

"I-I don't deserve this," Cedric said, stifling his tears and standing up. "Harry Potter died protecting me from You-Know-Who. He's the one who deserves this." Whispers went through the crowd. Harry Potter dead? He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named killed Harry Potter?

Hermione, Neville, the Weasleys, and the Gryffindor quidditch team hung their heads weeping. Their conclusions were true. Voldemort had finally killed the Boy Who Lived.


	2. Chapter 2: The Struggle

The next year was filled with turmoil. Families were murdered, people returned to hiding, and the Ministry covered it all up. As it turned out, Professor Moody was actually a death eater in disguise, and was sent back to Azkaban. Ron and Hermione realized they needed to make an alliance within Hogwarts. They believed in Harry until the end. If he fought Voldemort to the death, so would they, but they couldn't do it alone. The order of the Phoenix had accepted them against Molly's wished, and Professor McGonagall filled them in periodically. Despite Snape being in the Order, the pair still didn't trust him. Harry always had a hunch against him, and he was usually right about those things.

All the while, the stress of O.W.L.s, fighting Voldemort, and the oppression of Professor Umbridge put everyone on the verge of splitting at the seams. Slytherins threw threats of death eater attacks at everyone to scare them, and worst of all was Draco Malfoy.

He abused his authority over the other students as a member of the Inquisitorial Squad. He was horrid. Ron and Hermione avoided him like a thorn. They knew someone would get hurt if they had a confrontation with Draco.

On the anniversary of Harry's death, Voldemort returned his body to Hogwarts, perfectly preserved. He was buried in Godric's Hollow next to his parents. Hermione and the Weasleys visited him over the summer, saying their goodbyes. Harry's Gravestone read, "Courage will triumph over evil." Flowers from all over the world blanketed the two graves from wizards wishing the family well in the afterlife. Hermione knew Harry was happy to be back with his parents.


End file.
